I recently bought two bottles of Diamine ink—one ochre and one chocolate brown—to use in my fountain pen. I was hoping to find a warm, sepia-toned color reminiscent of the inks used by Renaissance drawing masters. Both inks flow beautifully, and when wetted they can be pulled into light washes.

Unfortunately, neither color was quite right. The chocolate brown was too cold and dark, while the ochre shifted toward an orange rust when wet. That led me to start mixing the two, carefully noting and testing different ratios in search of something closer to what I had in mind. Below are the results of my most recent experiments, shown dry and wet. Isn’t it fascinating to see how dramatically the color changes with the addition of water?

Tips and Techniques– Share yours! If you use fountain pen inks and have suggestions for a brand or sepia color that doesn’t shift when wet, I’d love to hear about it.